Saturday, July 20, 2013

OLEH LYSHEHA by OLEH LYSHEHA (episode III)

SONG 2

When I leave this little town
Harmonicas will play all night long..
But I won’t be here..
I know that as I sleep
The words I use and the way I walk are pantomimed..
In the square a horse drags a wooden cart full of bread: clack, clack..
A cold bench
Makes me take a good hard look
Forces my eyes open..
And I feel that something’s afoot
That something has just happened, maybe yesterday..
All that remains is a deep, far-off rumbling..
But before your heart rouses
To the sound,
You must fall asleep
Give into a deep fatigue..
The horse with the wooden cart
Stubbornly fights time:
Clack, clack — today's fresh bread, warm..
Once I, too, struggled with time..
But it would only grab me in its whirlwind
And spin me high up above the rooftops..
Now I know it’s small, contained
Unseen, like the bread in the cart’s wooden heart..

---SONG 212

There are so many superstars, overgrown with weeds..
Somewhere Tom Jones
Is still singing about that green-green grass..
On such a night under the moon among the trees
Cinnamoned mushrooms
Practice choreography..
And I think I should return
To the Milky Way,
Churn up that warm dust..
On such a night
The grandest operas play for free
To those at sea, to those awake
Ella Fitzgerald
Smears herself blue singing
We shall not perish of this earth! —
No, no, no don't you cry —
Like a willow weeping over water..

---

SONG 352
When you need to warm yourself,
When you are hungry to share a word,
When you crave a bread crumb,
Don’t go to the tall trees —
You’ll not be understood there, though
Their architecture achieves cosmic perfection,
Transparent smoke winds from their chimneys..
Don’t go near those skyscrapers —
From the one-thousandth floor
They might toss snowy embers on your head..
If you need warmth
It’s better to go to the snow-bound garden.
In the farthest corner you’ll find
The lonely hut of the horseradish..
Yes, it’s here, the poor hut of a horseradish..
Is there a light on inside? — Yes, he’s always at home..
Knock at the door of horseradish..
Knock on the door of his hut..
Knock, he will let you in..